Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,980,204 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 167,304 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.75% of Hancock Whitney worth $238,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 268.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank E. Bertucci sold 2,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $117,082.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,286,254.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of HWC stock opened at $50.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $51.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.49. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $32.16 and a one year high of $57.78.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.11. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.63%. The business had revenue of $359.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HWC. Hovde Group increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.78.

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the financial holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides traditional and online banking services to commercial, small business, and retail customers. It offers various transaction and savings deposit products consisting of brokered deposits, time deposits, and money market accounts; treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products including revolving credit facilities, and letters of credit and similar financial guarantees; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals, and investment advisory and brokerage products.